Doctor of the Bride
by Demigods in the TARDIS
Summary: The human Doctor and Rose Tyler are about to get married, when a surprise visit from an old . . . friend might just throw everything off-kilter. Oneshot. Please read and review.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.**

**Edit: I added a few lines here and there as I was going through. Sorry. ^_^ I just realized that the one dialogue I wanted to be there wasn't there.**

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**Doctor of the Bride**

"Congratulations!" Donna exclaimed, giving Rose a tight, warm hug. "Finally," she said. "It's about time you two got married. Watching you two was torture."

Rose laughed and the Doctor grinned. He looked dashing in a tux, but complained incisively about the bowtie, though Rose knew he secretly enjoyed it.

"We're just going to be more annoying now," assured Rose. Donna groaned comically. "Besides, it's not like we've been dating for years together. We've only known each other for about six months."

That's what they told everyone who wasn't directly involved with 'Project Cannon', as the Torchwood team had called it. The metacrisis Doctor needed credentials and a believable back story. And so it came to be that Dr. John Smith, or John Tyler-Smith from this day forth, shifted to London from Gallifrey (it's a place in Ireland, isn't it?). Rose had met him as he came to interview for her father in Torchwood and their friendship had soon blossomed into something more. Within months of their open love for each other, the Doctor had proposed to Rose and here they stood at their official marriage.

It had been the Doctor's idea to seek Donna out. He was sure she'd be somewhere. No universe could survive without Donna Noble. Without the Doctor, maybe, but definitely not without Donna. He had found her working as a temp in Chiswick and happily married to one Shawn Temple. The three of them became fast friends and Rose often had to pause and take deep breaths due to laughing so hard.

"Yeah, but still," shrugged Donna. Another guest had arrived and so Donna moved away, bidding them a quick farewell. Rose and the Doctor turned to the next guest, a man wearing a tweed jacket and black pants that stopped an inch above his ankles and a bowtie. He had green eyes and black hair.

"Hello," Rose said. "You must be a friend of the Doc-, um, John."

The man's eyes shone, not leaving Rose's. "Yes," he said.

The man didn't seem to be able to take his eyes off Rose. She wore a strapless white wedding dress accentuated with silver and light pinks and blues. Her golden hair had grown since that day at the beach and her brown eyes were highlighted with just the right amount of makeup. A golden ring with a strip of blue running through it shone on her ring finger. She really did look like a Goddess.

"You alright?" she asked slowly, wondering if something had happened to this man. He had quite the chin.

The man seemed to blink out of his reverie. "Yes, yes, of course." He turned to the Doctor and grinned, taking his hand to shake it. The Doctor jerked back, just as their hands met.

"Doctor!" exclaimed Rose, not noticing the other man's head snap her way.

"Sorry," said the Doctor. He wearily shook the man's hand, his face slightly pale and his expression grim.

"What's wrong?" asked a concerned Rose.

The Doctor smiled at her. "It's nothing, Rose. I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

"Maybe we should turn in for the night, yeah?" suggested Rose, placing a hand on his arm.

The Doctor cast a glance at the man standing there, watching their exchange. The Doctor squeezed Rose's hand in a reassuring gesture, but agreed.

"I'm sorry," Rose said, turning to the man who was still standing there. An unfathomable expression had been drawn upon his face. "I didn't catch your name."

"Rory," the man said. "I'm, uh . . . Rory Pond."

Rose shook his hand. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Pond. Thank you for attending, and I'm so sorry for having to hurry you. My husband's really tired."

"No, yes, of course," Mr. Pond bumbled. "Hang on," he said. He shuffled through his pockets and pulled out a meticulously wrapped gift. He handed it to Rose.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," said Rose. She accepted the gift, holding the pink and yellow wrapped present under the crook of an arm. "Thank you so much."

"It was the least I could do," Mr. Pond said. He nodded to both Rose and the Doctor. "I hope you have a fantastic life."

Rose's eyes snapped to his. For a moment, she wondered. Could it be . . .? _No,_ she decided. Of course not. Yet, she thought she could see something familiar in those green eyes as they retreated, their gaze lingering on her.

The Doctor stood by her side, suddenly aloof. He regarded Rose watching his other self, with a twisting pain in his singular human heart. He didn't want to lose Rose, not now. Not when they still had so many more adventures to have and an awful lot of running left to do. Still, he couldn't bring himself to stop her as she unwrapped the Time Lord's gift. He could only watch as she gasped, holding up a purple and blue t-shirt.

He remembered that day so very clearly. It had only been a month since his regeneration and Rose had already started to view him with the same eyes as she had his former self. That trip to New New Earth had been special, for more reasons than one. That had been their first official time travelling together again and he had been delighted to find that nothing had changed between them. If anything, his love for Rose had only intensified.

He remembered the kiss. The most fiery, passionate kiss he had ever received from anyone. True, at that time he wasn't sure if Rose was still Rose, but still.

He remembered every last detail of his time spent with Rose. The Time Lord part of his brain would never let him forget. He remembered the first time he had held her hand, such a tiny, soft hand, and told her to run. He remembered everything before the metacrisis and was constantly aware of all the time he spent with Rose after it. Yes, they had had a rocky start, but in the end, this was the Doctor and Rose Tyler they were talking about. If there were any two people in this universe or the next who were meant to be, it was them. Eventually, they had worked through things together and the Doctor had cherished every last second with her, because he knew full well what it was like without her.

So when Rose's eyes welled with tears and she ran out of the Church following the Time Lord Doctor, the heart of the metacrisis twisted into a painful knot. He found it suddenly hard to breathe and a cloying sensation grated up his throat. He was reminded painfully of that horrible day at Canary Wharf. He was losing Rose. Again. People stared at him, wondering what was going on. Unable to stay tall under their gaze, the Doctor followed Rose.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, her breath coming out in puffs in the cold night air. "Doctor, wait!"

The man in front of her stopped and turned around uncertainly. Rose flung herself into his arms and he held her tight, just like he used to.

"Oh, Rose," he breathed.

They stayed that way for a long time, their arms wrapped so firmly around the other that it was a wonder they could even breathe.

Finally, they broke away, but the Doctor's hands never left her waist and Rose's hands didn't leave his arms.

"You've changed," she said. _So very much,_ she added silently to herself.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "But look at you, Rose Tyler. You're still as beautiful as ever."

Rose felt herself blush. "Still travelling, then?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled. "Of course."

"On your own?" she asked.

"Oh, no," said the Doctor. "I travel with two shining companions: Amy and Rory."

Rose nodded. "'Kay," she said and grinned. The Doctor couldn't help grin in response. A figure moved into view behind Rose's shoulder and he looked up. The human Doctor looked pale under the light of the street lamp and the Doctor felt his hearts twinge in response to how lonely he suddenly looked. He could help a flare of jealously shoot through him, though. Rose was marrying_ him_. The human Doctor. She was going to spend forever with _him. _All the promises she had made to the Time Lord, Rose was going to fulfill with the human. _It was your choice,_ he reminded himself. He could have easily taken Rose away and left his metacrisis self here, but he knew, even now, even when he was struggling under the tsunami of jealousy, that he would never have been able to do that. Rose had to have a say in it. He would never have done anything to displease her._  
_

"Do you like it here?" he couldn't help asking. Rose understood the underlying message. If she didn't like it here, she could always travel with him. He would take her back in a heartbeat, maybe lesser. She always had the option of travelling with the Doctor and he would always, always be there for her.

"Yes," she said. "Thank you, Doctor."

"For what?"

"Everything," she said, her brown eyes glistening with tears. "Thank you for giving me the best life I could ever have. I love it. I'm having the most fantastic life you can think of." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I just hope you are, too."

The Doctor looked at Rose. His beautiful, precious, radiant Rose. "I'm having a great life, Rose Tyler."

Rose nodded again.

"I suppose this is goodbye, then?"

"I'll see you later," said Rose.

"Not if I see you first," said the Doctor, echoing Rose's own words from such a long time ago. Rose laughed delighted and gave him a light kiss.

The human Doctor, who had been watching the proceedings with growing dread grew confused as his Time Lord self moved away from Rose. The Doctor moved closer to the pair. The alien Doctor nodded at his human counterpart.

"Take care of her," he warned.

The Doctor looked from Rose to the eleventh regeneration, confused. "You're leaving?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Nice bow-tie," Rose commented.

The Doctor grinned. "Bow-ties are cool."

"But-," the human Doctor looked at Rose, still not letting himself believe. "Don't you want to go with him?"

Rose looked steadily at her husband. "I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you."

The Doctor looked at her, unable to comprehend what she was saying. She was going to stay! She was going to forsake Time and Space travel with him, for him. Overwhelmed, the Doctor grabbed Rose and pressed his lips to hers. This time, the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing didn't break them apart.


End file.
